Customs agent killed during shootout with smugglers near Puerto Rico

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A Customs and Border Protection agent was killed and two more were wounded during a shootout Thursday morning with suspected smugglers off the coast of Puerto Rico.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m., when agents exchanged gunfire with suspects aboard a boat about 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was testifying before a Senate panel on Thursday, said that the deceased agent was part of CBP's Air and Marine Operations unit. The wounded agents were airlifted to a Puerto Rico trauma center.

"These are brave members of our air and marine operations within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, so the difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our frontline personnel face every day," he said, according to the New York Times. "And their bravery and selfless service should be recognized."

"It's a dangerous time, and this is an unfortunate example of that," said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the Senate Homeland Security Committee's ranking Republican, during the hearing where Mayorkas and other top national security officials were testifying about threats to the homeland.